This Week in Lottery: Impersonators, Latest Winners and More

Last UpdatedJanuary 11, 2018

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The Latest Mega Millions Winning Numbers

The winning numbers for the August 29, 2017 draw are 02-13-17-35-73 with 3 as the Mega Ball and 5 as the Megaplier. Remember to check your tickets—you may just be the next Mega Millions jackpot winner. The prize at stake is an estimated $45 million.

Beware of Mavis Wanczyk

If you’ve been getting messages from a Mavis Wanczyk—recent winner of the $758.7 million Powerball jackpot—claiming to give money in exchange for following their account or simply responding to private messages, DON’T FALL FOR IT.

It’s a scam, and police are warning residents in Chicopee, Massachusetts that several fake accounts claiming to be the real Mavis Wanczyk have been spotted. So, if you or someone you know have ever been contacted by any of these fake Mavises, refrain from providing any personal information!

Woman from Novi, 1 of 3 to Win Latest Draw

Nancy Simmons, from Novi, Michigan, is one of three winners of the recent $1 million jackpot. The two other winning tickets—both also women—were purchased in Monroe and Taylor.

Simmons believed in what her mom used to say, “You can’t win if you don’t play.” So, she bought tickets for the August 19 draw—where she won a measly $4 prize. Where others would pack it up and call it a day, Nancy wasn’t keen on quitting so easily. She then bought more tickets for the Wednesday draw, and the rest is history.

Nancy’s plans for her windfall is quite sensible: she plans on buying a boat, and saving the rest.

Green Bay Man $50,00 Richer

A man from Green Bay, Wisconsin won $50,000 from the August 23, 2017 draw of Powerball. His winning ticket was purchased at Oneida Street Express, in Green Bay.

There are three more $50,000 winners who have come forward though. Their winning tickets were purchased at Sunrise Citgo on W. National Ave., West Allis; Kwik Trip on E. Main Street, Reedsburg; and a Stop-N-Go on Speedway Road, Madison.

Nigerian Undergraduate Wins Big

A second-year Computer Science student in Lagos, Nigeria won the recent Western Lotto drawing. Soyombo Qadim, an undergraduate at Tai Solarin University of Education, became N500,000 richer on August 25, 2017. Refreshingly, after so many stories of winners blowing all their winnings on luxuries, Soyombo said he plans on using the money for his education. That said, he is also planning on still playing the lottery in the hopes of winning bigger.

New Yorker Wins BIG While Buying Ingredients

It was like any other day for John Lewis, a 56-year old bartender at Saranac Lake, New York when he found himself at the local market last June. He had run out of mushrooms for the spaghetti sauce he was whipping up for dinner, so he ran out to get some at the last minute.

After purchasing his ingredients, he had $10 to spare so he decided to buy a Set for Life scratch card on a whim. It turned out that he was, indeed, about to be set for life because the card netted him a whopping $5 million!

John chose the annuity option, which means that he will be receiving $172,068 annual installments for years to come. If he lives for the next 60 years, he could see his winnings go up to $10 million. Best spontaneous purchase, ever, right?